Easter Basket Cake

Hi all, I'm making an Easter basket cake, and I am just wondering about the handle. I have only seen braided fondant handles, and I am just wondering if there is another way to do it. The cake is decorated in buttercream.

I made a basket and used royal icing for the handle - I found a template on the Wilton site and sized it for my cake. Then I piped the rope design, let it dry, and then flipped it over and piped on the other side. I used cookie sticks on the ends to stick into the cake.